Miles Byrd's NBA potential took him deep into the NBA pre-draft process. Unfinished business brought him back to the Mesa.
San Diego State's talented guard announced on Instagram Wednesday afternoon that he will return for his redshirt junior season. The decision came less than seven hours before the deadline for college eligible players to remove their name from next month's draft.
Byrd was the last big question facing SDSU head coach Brian Dutcher, and the last major piece to what is a very talented roster.
In his third season with the Aztecs Byrd took a noticeable step, averaging career highs in minutes (30.1), points (12.3), rebounds (4.4), assists (2.7), steals (2.1) and blocks (1.1). Byrd scored in double figures in 15 of San Diego State's first 19 games, with four 20-point performances.
The six-foot-seven-inch guard struggled down the stretch of the season. Through 15 games he shot 38.7 percent on three-pointers, a number that dropped to 30.1 by season's end.
Byrd was an All-Mountain West pick and made the conference's All-Defensive Team.
The news punctuates a very successful offseason for Dutcher. Seven-foot Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year Magoon Gwath announced his return earlier in the spring after checking out his options in the transfer portal.
Dutcher also made three additions through the portal: former San Jose State guard Latrell Davis, former Wyoming forward Jeremiah Oden and former Louisiana Tech point guard Sean Newman Jr.
Newman Jr. will replace Nick Boyd, who left for Wisconsin after one season with the Aztecs.
SDSU also signed highly-touted high school guard Elzie Harrington out of St. John Bosco. Harrington was ranked 66th in the 2025 class by ESPN.
San Diego State has enough talent on the roster to merit consideration in preseason Top-25 rankings. Reese Waters was considered the program's best player before the 2024-2025 season, but sat the year out with a foot injury. Forward Pharaoh Compton and guard Taj DeGourville each turned in impressive freshman campaigns. BJ Davis and Miles Heide also played crucial minutes.
The Aztecs lost to UNC in a First Four matchup of No. 11 seeds in March. It was an early exit for a program that reached consecutive Sweet 16s, including their 2023 run to the National Championship game.